PAX Prime – Firefall Impressions
Red 5 Studios has finally pulled through and brought a new game to PCs and this year’s PAX Prime. As you probably already know, it’s a team based shooter with the style of a MMO for the PC, as it has been in the works for over five years now. And if you didn’t catch its name it’s called Firefall, and is brought to you by Mark Kern who was the team lead designer for Blizzard’s World of Warcraft. With those credentials you already know the game will be good.
Firefall takes place on Earth in the year 2233. The discovery of a new clean energy source called Crystite brings about a disastrous energy storm known as the Melding which engulfs the entire planet choking out life. The remaining humans must band together and survive while staying in the eye of the storm. But another twist, a bloodthirsty race named The Chosen emerges and threatens the existence of humanity. It will be the players’ job to work together through dynamic world missions to save humanity and defend themselves from The Chosen.
Don’t QQ over RNG – Yes it’s an MMO but it is also a FPS/TPS. No auto targeting, you must be able to aim and time your abilities. Beyond being able to button mash and time your abilities correctly you will still need skill to properly aim. With a non dice rolling system and abilities not being level based it will all come down to who has more skill, the way it should be. To make sure you are focused on fighting, you won’t be able to fiddle around switching gear because you can only swap gear in and out at a forge located in a town or city.
Upgrades a plenty –You will be able to easily tweak your Battleframes to upgrade various stats or change how your weapon fires. Want to increase your splash radius of your weapon? Visit a forge and make sure you have enough Crystite to pay up for your upgrades.
Money won’t buy power – Firefall will be free to play from its launch. You won’t need to spend a dime in order to play through all of the content, assuming you have a computer and a connection to the internet. There will be a few micro transactions for cosmetic items, but money will not buy you power to be the top dawg. It is based on skill right?
Save the town – Dynamic missions will have a real effect on the world. For example, if The Chosen attack a city you must defend it. If you fail to defend the city then The Chosen will take over and you won’t be able to access any of the vendors or the forge. After The Chosen take over the town, you will need to find some more help, assuming you failed to defend, in order to annihilate The Chosen and recapture the city. Not knowing when these dynamic missions occur will keep players engaged at all times.
There is no I in Team – Cooperative play is key. Whenever a dynamic mission is occurring you will be able to call in the army for assistance. If there are any other players in the zone it will alert them to the event and give them an exact location to reach you in order to assist you.
Complete online bundle – It is an MMO so there will be clans (armies) and for their competitive multiplayer pvp there will be ladders, leagues, and stat tracking. Having a ladder and various stat trackings will help create more competitiveness which is always a good thing for pvp.
Jetpacks – I haven’t mentioned the jetpacks yet, have I? Well, as Firefall does take place 200 years into the future, humanity has finally mastered the ability to manufacture jetpacks. The jetpacks add a nice boost to mobility for the characters and an extra tactic for battle. Plus, it’s a freaking jetpack that allows you to fly short distances.
Artwork – Check out all that vibrant detailed artwork. Not just the details on the actual characaters and enemies but the background. While the game is created in a similar style to Borderlands with that cartoon feel, there is a lot more color in Firefall.
Are you excited for Firefall yet? If you haven’t seen the announcement trailer or gameplay trailer make sure you check them out. Sadly, we have to wait until the second half of 2011 before we can enjoy playing Firefall. By signing up on their forums, you will automatically be registered for the beta when it begins. By the way, did anyone notice the sand people during the gameplay trailer when the character was on the public transport? Re-watch it and look for two people on top of a mountain shooting at the transport ship. And let me mention again, Firefall will be completely free to play!
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